5 Mistakes You Must Avoid Before 31 March to Save Tax

Why 31 March Can Make or Break Your Tax Savings

For most individuals and businesses in India, 31 March is more than just another date on the calendar. The wrong tax mistakes before 31 March can lock you into higher tax liability for the entire year, while timely action can legally lower what you owe. In our work with thousands of clients, we observe the same patterns of Common Tax Mistakes in India repeating every season—especially when people start last‑minute financial year-end tax planning in March.

Vishal Madan & Co., a chartered accountant firm in Delhi serving clients since 1997, has seen how small omissions, rushed decisions, and misplaced assumptions during year-end can cost taxpayers tens of thousands of rupees. The team led by CA Vishal Madan regularly counsels clients on mistakes to avoid before the financial year-end and explains how to save tax at year’s end in India without resorting to risky or aggressive tactics. As an experienced CA firm in Delhi, we know that disciplined planning beats panic-driven investments every single time.

In this blog, we are not listing every deduction available under the Income Tax Act. Instead, we are focusing on the critical mistakes to avoid before 31 March to save tax so you can secure the benefits you are already entitled to. Think of this guide on 5 Mistakes You Must Avoid Before 31 March to Save Tax as a practical checklist of what not to do before the financial year end if you want to save tax before 31 March without stress.

Mistake 1: Ignoring Old vs New Tax Regime Analysis Until the Last Minute

One of the most common yet under-estimated tax decisions is choosing between the old and new tax regimes. Many taxpayers decide in a hurry while filing their returns or when HR asks for a declaration, instead of planning. This leads to classic old vs new tax regime mistakes, where people either forego deductions they could have claimed or stay in the old regime even when they would have paid less under the new one. By the time you realise this, it is often too late to correct these tax mistakes before 31 March for the current financial year.

These year-end tax planning mistakes are particularly damaging for salaried individuals whose TDS is deducted every month based on an assumed regime. Choosing wrongly can result in excess TDS, cash-flow pressure, or a big additional payment when you file your return. Among the most frequent income tax mistakes salaried employees face are decisions made by copying colleagues instead of calculating which slab structure suits their own income, deductions, and investments.

How to choose the right regime

Before the last month of the year:

1. Use a reliable calculator or consult a professional to compare both regimes for your expected income and deductions.
2. Under the old regime, list all possible deductions and exemptions—housing loan interest, HRA, insurance, tuition fees, ELSS, and so on—so you do not repeat the usual section 80C mistakes like investing in low-yield products purely to exhaust the limit.
3. Communicate your regime choice clearly to your employer early, and review the Form 16 preview in February so that any errors can still be corrected.

Mistake 2: Treating Investments and Deductions as a One-Day March Job

For many taxpayers, especially busy professionals and small-business owners, tax planning becomes a 30 March activity. This is where classic March tax saving mistakes happen: people buy whatever policy the banker or agent is pushing, invest blindly in ELSS or ULIPs, or make large PPF deposits without checking liquidity needs. Such last-minute tax saving mistakes not only reduce returns but also mean you may not even choose the deductions that would genuinely benefit you. Worse, you might still end up with avoidable tax mistakes before 31 March because you did not understand how each deduction actually works.

Good Tax Saving Tips before 31 March always start with a full view of your finances—salary, bonuses, business income, and existing investments. When you make ad‑hoc moves in isolation, you risk classic financial year-end tax mistakes in India, such as over-investing in tax-saving products while neglecting emergency funds, or donating to charities without preserving proper 80G receipts. Both individuals and partnerships also overlook how business-related expenses, depreciation, and allowances can legally lower taxable profits, leading to further leakage.

Smarter way to use deductions

Instead of chasing products, build a structure:

1. Start your deduction planning in April, not in March, so you avoid repeating the same income tax mistakes year after year.
2. Map each deduction section (80C, 80D, 80G, home loan interest, NPS, etc.) to a specific financial goal so that you minimise Tax planning mistakes in India, such as overlapping insurance and investment products.
3. If you run a partnership or proprietorship, review your books quarterly to avoid common partnership firm compliance mistakes that can disallow business expenses or create unnecessary scrutiny.
4. Revisit your plan every quarter so that tax planning mistakes in March are only minor adjustments, not a full-blown crisis.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Salary Structure, TDS, and Form 16 Mismatches

Salaried professionals often assume their employer and payroll software will handle everything correctly. Unfortunately, many tax mistakes that salaried employees in India face arise from misunderstood salary structures, wrong HRA calculations, or incorrect TDS deductions. These Salary tax deduction mistakes can build up silently throughout the year and only become visible when you check your Form 16 in June. Among the most damaging Tax mistakes that salaried people make in March is not reviewing projections and investment proofs before HR locks the payroll, leading to avoidable tax mistakes before 31 March and later Form 16 tax mistakes that are harder to rectify.

If you have freelance income, stock trading gains, or rental income in addition to a salary, the risk multiplies. Your employer deducts TDS only on salary, not on these other sources, so you may need to pay advance tax yourself. Many professionals with side businesses also ignore GST issues—later discovering that poor GST registration compliance for businesses has triggered notices or mismatches between their GST and income-tax data.

How to stay in control as a salaried taxpayer

1. In January or February, download your salary slips and provisional Form 16 summary to cross-check basic details: PAN, address, and tax slab.
2. Reconcile the TDS shown by your employer with Form 26AS / AIS on the income-tax portal so that any gaps can be fixed before year-end.
3. Submit rent receipts, loan interest certificates, and investment proofs well before the internal HR deadline to avoid common tax proof submission mistakes that lead to excess TDS.
4. If you are unsure whether your structure is efficient, schedule a consultation with CA Vishal Madan to review your payslip and optimise allowances, reimbursements, and deductions.

Mistake 4: Forgetting Advance Tax, Interest, and Compliance Deadlines

Self-employed professionals, consultants, landlords, and traders frequently underestimate their non-salary income and skip timely advance tax payments. This leads to classic advance tax mistakes—either paying too little in the first three instalments or trying to compensate with a large payment at the end of the year. Apart from interest under sections 234B and 234C, such behaviour can also create avoidable tax mistakes before 31 March if you miscalculate your final liability or forget to factor in capital gains and other taxable receipts.

Business owners often combine poor advance tax planning with delayed bookkeeping and pending GST work. When accounts are not updated regularly, you may miss recording income or fail to reconcile invoices and input tax credits. This is also when many GST challenges faced by businesses in Delhi show up—differences between books and returns, missed filings, or late fees that could easily have been avoided with more disciplined monthly reviews.

Practical steps to avoid penalties

1. Estimate your current-year income at least quarterly and use conservative assumptions for volatile sources like trading or bonuses.
2. Compare actual tax paid (TDS plus advance tax) with your estimated liability each quarter so you can top up in time and avoid heavy interest.
3. Keep your books and GST returns up to date so that tax numbers across income tax and GST stay aligned.
4. Schedule a pre–31 March review with your accountant so that any remaining payments, declarations, or compliance tasks are completed calmly rather than in a rush.

Mistake 5: Treating ITR Filing as a Post-March Formality

Many taxpayers believe that as long as they meet the July ITR deadline, everything is fine. In reality, a lot of damage is already done by then. If books are incomplete, proofs are missing, or income has been under-reported, the resulting ITR filing errors are only a symptom of deeper problems. Most of these issues arise from poor documentation, reconciliations, and tax mistakes before 31 March that were never fixed when there was still time.

Once the year closes, you cannot retrospectively change most declarations, claim missed exemptions, or alter which regime you selected. At that stage, even the best financial year-end tax planning advice cannot undo structural choices already frozen into your Form 16, TDS certificates, and books of account. That is why thoughtful preparation from April to March is far more valuable than hurried corrections when the return-filing window opens.

Create a simple year-round tax calendar.

1. In April, set out your investment and deduction plan for the year and align it with your cash flows.
2. In June, September, and December, review income, expenses, and taxes paid so far; adjust advance tax or SIP amounts instead of compressing everything into March.
3. By February, reconcile Form 26AS / AIS, salary statements, and books so that you enter March with a clear list of actions to save tax before 31 March in an orderly way.
4. Before the return filing season begins, have a professional such as CA Vishal Madan review your documents so that your final return accurately reflects your financial position.

Conclusion: Turn March from Panic Month into Planning Month

If you recognise yourself in any of these patterns—confusion over regimes, rushed investments, neglected salary details, ignored advance tax, or sloppy documentation—you are not alone. These are precisely the tax mistakes before 31 March that we see every year across income levels and professions. The difference between taxpayers who always feel harassed and those who feel in control is simply that the latter treat taxes as a year-long process, not a one-week emergency.

Vishal Madan & Co. has been helping individuals, professionals, and businesses across Delhi, NCR, and Noida navigate these challenges since 1997 through a blend of assurance, taxation, auditing, accounting, and advisory services. Under the guidance of CA Vishal Madan, our team of skilled chartered accountants focuses on practical solutions that fit your specific situation rather than generic tips, with a mission to resolve every type of accounting query and support sustainable business growth. Whether you need strategic advice on financial year-end tax planning or hands-on support with GST registration, bookkeeping, or business tax compliance, working with CA Vishal Madan can give you the clarity and confidence you need.

If you are unsure where to start or worried that you may already have made costly decisions, do not wait until the last week of March to seek help. If you need help with personal tax filing, GST registration, or business tax compliance in Delhi, consulting a qualified chartered accountant can help you avoid last-minute errors and penalties. Vishal Madan & Co. offers personal tax filing services in Delhi as well as ongoing advisory support for individuals and businesses who want their records, returns, and payments handled correctly, so that tax mistakes before 31 March become a thing of the past. To discuss your situation or read our reviews, contact us today or visit our Google Business Profile and take the first step towards calmer, more confident tax planning.